2023-08-31-accounts

ANNUAL � REPORT

1st October ’22 - 30th September ‘23

YOUR NUMBER5

3 Introduction by Chair of Trustees

4 Our Mission

5 Year at a glance

12 Financial Review

21 Looking Forward

INTRODUCTION

The staff team doubled to four employees, providing

By Steven Dodds - Chair of Trustees

The year to 30[th] September 2023 saw transformational
growth for Talk Club in terms of its impact on men’s
mental health and its capacity to create a sustainable
future for itself.

Propelled by a simple yet effective model that
improves men’s mental fitness and normalises real
conversations between men, the charity ended the year
with a significantly larger community of people who
support and are supported by the charity.

Talk Club now has over 3,000 men who have accessed the
charity for support through a growing number of peer
support clubs and other methods.  2023 saw celebrities
such as Liam Gallagher and Tyson Fury back the
charity, whilst innovative partnerships with Bristol
Beer Factory and Wogan Coffee flourishing, getting in
the hands of men while helping income grow by £160,534

The charity is now able to show the difference it
makes through its peer support model, where men, on
average, check-in at a 5.8 out of 10 and out at 7.3,
an improvement of 25%.  Talk Club also strengthened
its ‘continuity of care’ model, providing ‘in work’
mental fitness support to progressive companies via
its Business Support model and offering group therapy
to over 45 men who need more support than the core
models provide.

more capacity to manage its growing community and
lay strong foundations for the future.  Over 350
volunteer club captains have now been trained to
run their own peer support club to the Talk Club
model.

Day-in, day-out through this year, Talk Club’s
staff, volunteers and supporters advocated for men
to step away from the shame that persists around
men’s mental health, and instead be proud they are
attending to their mental fitness.  During this
year, it became clear that the charity’s model and
approach works, and that it is meeting a very real
need.

Looking forward the charity is a good position to
strengthen its ability to reach men who need
support and generate the resources it needs.
The external operating environment will remain
challenging, but the charity will stay focused on
widening access to its successful models and
sharpening its income generating, community
management and governance systems.

Talk Club is built on, and belongs to, it’s
community.  My fellow Trustees and I are proud to
care for the charity on their behalf during this
period.

3

OUR MISSION

A community that supports
every man to be mentally fit.

4

YEAR AT A GLANCE

How we got the UK talking

Wogan
Coffee
Talk
Club 10
Collab
Coffee
Launches.

Group Therapy
Services begin.

Tyson Fury donates
funds from his
World Cup song
‘SWEET CAROLINE’
to TC.

Business Support
secures first retained
contracts with Airbus
And SR2.

Liam Gallagher donates
funds from ‘TOO GOOD
FOR GIVING UP’ to TC
and takes over TC
Twitter account
sparking a national
Mental Fitness
conversation.

5

Year at a glance continued

Activity Report

Objectives and activities

The Charity's objectives are to promote and
protect the physical and mental health of men,
in particular, but not exclusively, by:

• a)Providing mental health talking clubs for men in their community

• b)Raising awareness of mental health via events and online resources, and;

• c)Providing a supportive network for men both online and offline so that they can talk about their mental health.

Public benefit statement

The trustees have given due consideration to
the Charity Commission's published guidance on
the Public Benefit requirement under the
Charities Act 2011, and are satisfied that the
Charity's main activities described above are
for the public benefit.

6

Year at a glance continued

The year in review

Talk Club has continued to grow and
expand over the past twelve months. The
growth of its financial income and
social impact has been complimented by
the scaling up of the internal team and
infrastructure.

‘Continuity of Care’

Talk Club has several strands to its
support model, tied to together to
provide continuity of care to men who
need support to improve their mental
fitness:

Community

Talk Club has grown its online presence
via social media, providing a ‘front
door’ to men who might need support and
normalising the idea of men’s mental
fitness and real conversations between
men.

Talk Clubs

The first step for men who need support
is often to get to a Talk Club – a
weekly, local, volunteer run, peer
support group which delivers the proven
‘How are you out of 10?’ model.

The charity has added to its portfolio
of Talk Clubs, with over sixty-five
clubs in locations across the UK and
online, including innovative, accessible
formats such as Talk & Skate (skate
parks), Talk & Run (running clubs) and
even Talk & Trim (haircuts).

Over 360 men have now been trained to
captain a Talk Club, supported by the
staff team who provide tools to set-up,
promote and manage a club.

7

Year at a glance continued

Group Therapy

Talk Club grew its Therapy Groups, offering low-
cost services for men with more complex needs,
delivered by qualified counsellors. The charity
has trained 2therapists and 2 trainee therapists
to run these groups, with over 45 men benefitting
from this support.

With NHS-prescribed, free therapy increasingly
hard to access, the provision of low-cost services
under the familiar ‘Talk Club’ brand is lowering
the barriers to entry of this critical support.

Business Support

This year saw the introduction of Talk Club’s
Business Support Service, providing organisations
with on-site mental health support, embedded into
each company’s human resource system but separate
from it.  The benefits to employees and employers
of pastoral care that is confidential and discreet
from a company’s management structure have become
increasingly clear, and companies including Airbus
and SR2, have invested in Talk Club’s offer. These
services also provide an important sustainable
income stream for the charity.

8

Year at a glance continued

Brand, fundraising & income generation

Using a blended approach of fundraising,
grants, donations, membership, corporate
services, merchandise and product
partnerships, Talk Club continues to live out
its innovative approach to generating
sustainable income. All these income streams
grew strongly this year.

The close partnership with Bristol Beer
Factory via it’s Clear Head Alcohol-free beer
is particularly important – offering a
sustainable and growing income stream – but
the charity is incredibly appreciative of
support from a wide variety of funders and
partners.

9

A huge thank you to all OUR SUPPORTERS BRISTOL LIBEER Burges Salmon FACTORY BOARDMISTERS Parmenion SR2 SOCIALIY RECRUITUEMT origin WOGAN WORK,. ACE TALK CLUB

THE RISE OF CLEAR HEAD

Total     £26,269.16
Sept 23   £2,884.76
Aug 23    £2,496.41
July 23   £2,857.81
Jun 23    £2,550.93
May 23    £2,277.63
Apr 23    £2,450.12
Mar 23    £2,053.15
Feb 23    £2,238.38
Jan 23    £1,720.10
Dec 22    £1,612.14
Nov 22    £1,556.00
Oct 22    £1,571.71

Monthly income from Clear Head - 1 Oct ’22 - 30 Sept ’23

11

TALK CLUB FINANCIAL REV13W

LET'S TALK NUMBERS

Overall, the Charity is on a viable footing.
Reserves are in line with a prudent reserves
policy ,which is designed to ensure that
sufficient reserves are in place to meet
contractual commitments in the event of
unforeseen circumstances, and can only be used
in mitigation with Board agreement.

The outcomes for 2022/23, with reserves of
£88,342 are in line with this policy. The Board
reviews the reserves policy annually.
Risks and uncertainties are reviewed regularly.
Current key risks identified are:

Insufficient or reduced funding
from donations, fundraising,
product partnerships and other
income

• Uncertain financial climate

High levels of stress and
burnout in the staff. Action
has been taken to mitigate all
identified risks.

Continued diversification and
exploration of new income
generation models to spread the
risk of relying on a small
volume of income streams

• Continued review of financial metrics with board of trustees and co-CEOs led by our treasurer

Explore opportunities to
utilise increased income
and cash reserves to employ
more staff to alleviate
capacity issues

13

Financial review continued

Structure, governance and management

The Charity's core activities are carried out
by a small team comprising appropriately
skilled persons, including two Co-CEOs, a CTO,
two community managers, a team of volunteers
and an array of freelancers and partners.
Their work is overseen by board of trustees
and Co-CEOs.

Trustees come from a variety of public and
private sector backgrounds. The range and
balance of trustees' skills and experience are
regularly reviewed to ensure full coverage of
governance responsibilities. Each trustee
takes the lead in overseeing an area of the
Charity's activities appropriate to their
skills and experience. New trustees receive
induction and training in their roles.

14

Trustees' responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the
financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom
Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales, the Charities Act 2011,
Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the
trust deed requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each
financial year that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the
Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including
the income and expenditure, of the Charity for that period. In preparing
those financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

• Observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent

• state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements

• Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate

to presume that the Charity will
continue in business.

15

Financial review continued

The trustees are responsible
for keeping proper accounting
records which disclose with
reasonable accuracy at any
time the financial position
of the Charity and to enable
them to ensure that the
financial statements comply
with the Charities Act 2011,
the Charity (Accounts and
Reports) Regulations 2008 and
the provisions of the trust
deed. They are also
responsible for safeguarding
the assets of the Charity and
hence for taking reasonable
steps for the prevention and
detection of fraud and other
irregularities.

16

Our Numbers CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Talk Club 1194033 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period frorn 011'10f2022 301091,2023 To Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted funds to the newest Restricted funds Endowment fund8 Total fund8 Last year to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to nearest £ to the nearest £ A1 ReGeipts Cl&srha8d Sal88 Dnnxbms lerclwndise Sales Evanls Sorvic88- Th8Wy Vebsite Sub%riPtp)ns INogan CDff8 Divwjond Incom 26.269 26.269 13,360 40.3 697 12.9S9 8.592 19.526 1.204 10.596 2.040 B,592 10,526 1.204 10,596 2,040 5,2Y9 1,250 Sub total (Gross income for ARJ A2 A55et and inve5trnent sales, {898 tablo). 234,933 234933 74.3Y9 Sub total 234,933 234933 74,399 TALK CLUB 17

A3Pa Aoxuntancy Costs Bank I￿argeS Fundraisln Ex Runn￿9 Costs 450 1,702 292 101 ns 16.090 167.844 1e7,844 86,635 Sub total 184,485 184485 74,103 A4 A88Ot and inv08tmont purchases, {5ee table) Sub total 184.485 18448S 74,103 Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end 50,448 50.44B 296 37,894 88.342 37,894 88,342 37.598 37.894 TALK CLUB 18

Section B Ststement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unr8Btrictod funds to ne¥est £ R88tricted fund5 to ￿rest £ Endowm8nt fund5 to nearest£ Categorf•s Details 81 Cash funds Tota FuThls 8&342 Total cash funds 88.342 iaqraa ￿1th rat.AlptA And PayrnPRrts accDunt(s)} Unrestrlctod funds tD n•w•Bt £ Restrlcted funds to n•ar•8t £ Endowment funds to n••r•81 £ Detai18 Fund to whlch ass•t b•la Current Yalue Dotai18 Crystal PJYd)er FuThl Ltd Cost (optional B3 Investment assets 8,125 TALK CLUB 19

Fund to whlch asset ￿10 Current value lor￿1 Dotai18 Cost (optlonal) B4 A55ets retained for the Gharity's own use Fund to whlch Ilablllt relates UrKesttiEted *nx)unt due tlonal 3.003 When due lonal Det8118 HfvIRC B5 Liabilitie5 Per6lon UNesbl¢ted 887 Slgned by one cr￿0 trustees half of all the truslees Signature Pn'nt Name Dat8 of roval Simon Brooke 19106124 TALK CLUB

TALK CLUB LOOKING FORWARD-

LOOKING FORWARD

2023/2024 will see the arrival of a new Chair
of Trustee’s and the chance for Talk Club to
plan for the medium term, focusing on
strengthening its foundations and growing its
impact.  This process has already begun, and
the charity has four ambitions to 2026:

1. To significantly grow the number of men supported through its model, confident in the charity’s impact:

• 280 clubs in the UK,

  • including every major city

3. To deliver best-in-class safe-guarding and volunteer management:

• Rock-solid product safety and staff care

• A larger, experienced central HQ team

• 30+ business support client

• 12,000 men reached

• Greater public consciousness

4. To deepen its roots in Bristol, and extend its national reach

• of ‘How are you out of 10?’

• More accurately measure the need for support and the difference Talk Club makes

• Find a visible, accessible Bristol HQ, also acting as a drop-in centre to alleviate capacity issues

2. To be more financially sustainable, whilst remaining authentic to the needs of its community:

• ‘Best-in-class’ brand & PR

• Significant income growth

• Strengthened fundraising and financial monitoring systems

22

Status

Talk Club is a Charitable
Incorporated Organisation
(CIO),
registered charity number
1194033, and is governed by a
constitution dated 08
Apr 2021. Prior to this it
was We Talk Club CIC,
registered company 12216881

National Location

The principal address of the
Charity is in England, at:
The Tobacco Factory Raleigh
Road,Bristol,BS3 1TF

Trustees of the Charity

The trustees who served during
the year and up to the date of
signing are as follows:

Steven Dodds (Chair)
Simon Brooke (Treasurer)
Tom Watson (Secretary)
Claire Wilkinson
Rich Gundry
James Wheale

Cory Stewart
Stuart Baker
Andy Evans
Claire Amos
Michael McCarthy
Sam Oakes

Appointment and recruitment of charity trustees

In selecting individuals for
appointment as charity trustees, the
charity trustees have regard to the
skills, knowledge and experience
needed for the effective
administration of the CIO.

New trustees are recruited by
invitation following recommendations
from trustees and officers,
based on matching candidates’ skills,
knowledge, experience and commitment
to the current identified needs.

New trustees are mentored by
experienced members and given access
to on-line and/or direct training in
appropriate areas.

Signed on behalf of the board of
trustees

Steven Dodds
Chair of Trustees

Date 1/02/2024

23

TALK CLUB THANK YOU

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ members of On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages	Talk Club	Talk Club	Talk Club
	30thSeptember 2023	Charity no (if any)	1194033
	17 - 20

Responsibilities and I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 30/09/2023. basis of report As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination examiner's statement which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: • accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or • the accounts do not accord with the accounting records I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Date: 19/06/2024 Signed: Name: Mr Leigh Wiltshire Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 32 Award Road, Wimborne, BH21 7NT

1

Section B Disclosure

[Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent ] examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

2